21 Unbelievably Haunting Vintage Photos From The Circus
The greatest show on earth has come a long way.
JoJo, the "Dog face Boy." (1900)
Clementine Clatteaux Delait a bearded lady. (1907)
German strongman Eugene Sandow and Goliath wrestling with "a bear." (1910)
Anita, 'the Living Doll', sits for a portrait. (1912)
A circus elephant balances on its front legs. (1920)
A female contortionist. (1925)
Daredevil Gladys Roy trains for her flying acrobatics by balancing on the rooftop of a skyscraper in Los Angeles. (1925)
A member of Sir Robert Fossett's family circus grooms the show's boxing kangaroo. (1940)
Mr Valenches holding two of his performing animals; a dog and a fox. (1908)
Jacko and Bess, two mandrills who perform at the Olympia Circus in London, wearing a fancy suit and dress in imitation of a smart couple. (1931)
Dixie the elephant from Whipsnade Zoo performs part of her repertoire with her keeper George Braham. (1932)
Man crushes a block placed on the stomach of a strongman. (1930)
Samson Brown, the world's strongest man, lets a motorcycle run over him. (1934)
A man carrying twins, two 36-year-olds who are part of a circus act, in his bags. (1935)
Members of Bertram Mills Freak Show are examined by a medical profession. On the examination table is the 'Giraffe Necked Woman'. (1935)
Facial contortionist Alfred Hyland, gurning during an exhibition in Glasgow. (1938)
The director of the Sarrasani Circus poses with a Sioux family in South Dakota, whom he was presenting as part of his circus. (1930)
Czech showman Baron Richard Nowak, 19, stands 21 inches high & weighs 17 lbs., blowing on a trumpet as he nestles inside tuba player of the Hamid-Morton Circus. (1940)
A seal performing in a harness, the trainer nearby, at a circus. (1942)
Gargantua the Great, the famous giant gorilla featured in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, sustained a scarred face when a sailor threw acid in his face on the ship from Africa. (1940)
A strongwoman balances a piano and pianist on her chest. (1920)